Beginner's Exercise

With so many ways of exercising, you might be confused or lost when first deciding to start a routine. This guide will touch on the first steps you need to take when starting to exercise. Why is it important, some ways to exercise and what your first fitness thoughts should be.

Table of Contents

• Weight Loss: Diet vs. Exercise
  • Losing weight requires that you take in less calories than you burn over a prolonged period of time. Your body will then begin to use its fat stores for energy causing weight loss. Since there are two sides of this weight loss equation you can manipulate either one to achieve your goal. But which one works best?
• Faster Weight Loss
  • The amount of time it takes to lose weight is controlled by both internal and external factors. Internal factors are those that you have direct influence over such as food choices and physical activity while external factors are a lot harder if not impossible to change.
• Guest Writer: What to do if You're Just Starting to Exercise
  • The most difficult part of any journey is starting out, and this goes double for entering the world of fitness. There is so much information available everywhere you turn, just deciding where to start can keep you from starting all.
• Biggest Loser Diet and Exercise Plan
  • If you've ever watched The Biggest Loser on NBC, you probably noticed that they lose a lot more weight than the recommended 1-2 pounds per week. You might also be curious as to how they achieved such a fast paced weight loss so that you can create your own Biggest Loser diet and exercise plan.
• The "Secret" to Weight Loss is Finally Revealed
  • The secret to weight loss is like the fountain of youth: everyone wants to find it but in reality there is no such thing. Weight loss is dependent on a solid exercise routine as well as a proper diet. If you're doing both, you will lose weight.
• The Best Way to Lose Weight: Slowly
  • We all want to lose weight for different reasons: a wedding, party, beach trip or just to be healthy. Whatever our motivation, trying to lose weight quickly is always tempting. Why only lose a healthy 1-2 pounds per week when you can work harder and lose double or even triple that?
• Motivation to Exercise
  • Before you even think about starting an exercise routine, you need to ask yourself why. 'Why am I exercising?' If the answer is good, you will have a solid foundation from where to to start an exercise routine.
• How do Celebrities get Perfect Bodies so Quickly?
  • How can celebrities change their bodies so quickly while it takes the rest of us years to get a perfect six pack?
• Considerations of a Beginning Exerciser
  • The hardest part to starting an exercise routine is actually committing yourself to doing so. Once you're sure that you want to add exercise into your daily life, you have to ask yourself a few questions.
• Benefits of Strength Training
  • The benefits of a good strength training program are almost endless. Less disease, happiness and most importantly, showing off your muscles at the beach.
• Importance of Cardiovascular Exercise
  • In recent years many studies have come out telling us of the benefits we see from a lifestyle rich in physical activities and some extra cardiovascular workouts on the side. Running, biking, swimming, sports and even walking can add to these benefits.
• A Walk to Your Health
  • You can reap some benefits of exercise without joining a gym or running for miles a day.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is BMI reliable?
  • The body mass index (BMI) is a tool that is used to asses health risk based on weight and height. Each height has a different healthy weight range, above which, risks of certain conditions such as heart disease, strokes and diabetes increase.
• What is BMI?
  • The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a tool that allows anyone to quickly figure out their healthy weight range using their weight and height. BMI is simply a ratio between weight and height. The taller you are, the heavier you can be and still fit into a 'normal' weight category.
• How do you burn calories?
  • Creating a calorie deficit is the key to losing weight. A calorie deficit is simply the difference between what your body uses and what you eat. To lose weight, you either need to eat less or burn more. Burning calories can be accomplished using a variety of techniques.
• What is cardio?
  • Cardio (short for cardiovascular exercise) is the term given to a certain type of exercise that keeps your heart rate elevated for a continuous length of time. Cardio has many benefits including lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, resting heart rate and improving your muscular endurance.
• What are group exercise classes good for?
  • If you're sick of the same old workout, group exercise might be for you. Lifting weights and running on a treadmill is fine for some people but others like to try new and different styles of working out. Group exercise offers many different ways to get your heart pumping and your muscles bulging.
• What's the secret to weight loss?
  • If someone is trying to sell you a diet or weight loss plan, the word most likely to come up is secret. What is the secret to weight loss? The secret to weight loss is that there is no secret.
• Is being sore from a workout good?
  • Do you find yourself sore after every single workout? As long as you aren't experiencing a bad kind of sore, feeling a bit of discomfort is normal.
• Can I lose weight by sweating?
  • Many people think that sweating will cause weight loss. Is this actually true or is it just another easy way out?
• What is a pedometer?
  • A pedometer is an electronic device that is used to count the number of steps you take each day.
• How do I lose weight?
  • Losing weight is a simple equation. If you burn more calories than you eat, there is no way to fail.

Top 5 Lists

• Top 5 Reasons to Change Your Workout Routine
  • There are plenty of ways to make your exercise routine more effective and one of the best is to keep it fresh. If you frequently change your routine, you'll keep your body constantly adapting, burn more calories and stay motivated to stick with your exercise plan.
• Top 5 Ways to Exercise During a Recession
  • With a recession looming over us, a gym membership might be the last expense you're worrying about. While gyms have some really nice equipment, owners don't want you to know that there are plenty of ways you can stay in shape even if you aren't a member.
• Top 5 Health Myths
  • Staying healthy is hard enough. You have to exercise properly, eat the right foods and avoid all that bad stuff that you have very little control over, like air pollution. Staying healthy is made even tougher by lies spread to increase profits at certain companies. If you want to be healthy, there are a few myths you need to avoid.
• Top 5 Reasons to be Healthy
  • A lot of people these days want to be healthy. Soaring obesity, diabetes and heart disease rates have put health at the top of most people's list of concerns. There are however, a few people that need some additional coaxing and if you're one of them, this list is for you.
• Top 5 Ways to Pick a Good Workout Partner
  • Having a workout partner will help you stay motivated, give you new exercise ideas and push you harder. Unfortunately, it isn't always easy picking the right person to help you out. You need someone who is dedicated, knowledgeable and friendly.
• Top 5 Places You Shouldn't Get Your Health, Diet and Exercise Information From
  • Searching for good health information can be hard these days. Everyone is trying to sell something and it's hard to trust anyone. Aside from the obvious, there are some sources that may seem reliable but have different motives for giving you bad advice.
• Top 5 Ways to Increase Your Exercise Level by Spending Your Stimulus (or Tax Rebate) Check
  • The government will soon be sending the majority of people some money to try and save the country from going into a recession. Instead of wasting the money on something shiny, you can use it on a few items that will help you increase your exercise level and make you healthier.
• Top 5 Ways to Exercise for Free
  • Exercising can be quite expensive nowadays but you really have no choice. The alternative is not exercising and being unhealthy which can cost you later on in life. Luckily, there are some free and low cost ways you can get your exercise in each day.
• Top 5 Ways to Prevent Muscle Soreness
  • Do you like being in pain the day after going to the gym? If not then there are a few steps you can take to prevent muscle soreness.
• Top 5 Exercise Mistakes Made by Beginners
  • Beginners make a lot of mistakes when they first start exercising. Eventually they learn the right way of doing things but there are some steps they can take to make the transition easier.
• Top 5 Ways to Get into Shape
  • Getting into shape can be hard and complicated but here are a few easy ways that might even save you time.
• Top 5 Reasons to Exercise
  • Exercising on a regular basis can lower your cholesterol & blood pressure, keep you within a healthy weight range and even make you happy. The best part is that all these benefits are realized without any drugs.
• Top 5 Ways to Get More Exercise Without Visiting a Gym
  • Most gyms want you to believe that the only way to increase the amount of exercise you do is to use their machines, take their classes and hire their personal trainers. Fortunately, there are some ways you can increase your physical activity level without spending too much money.

Tools

• Free Workout Routine
  • This tool will provide you with a daily workout routine tailored to your goals and schedule. Whether you want to tone up or build muscle, the SH Trainer has a plan for you.
• Calorie Calculator
  • This tool will estimate your daily calorie needs based on your age, height, weight and activity level in order to help you figure out how much to eat to gain, lose or maintain weight.